East Cobb City map: Defining and redrawing the lines

From the moment East Cobb Cityhood proponents issued a proposed map last December, questions abounded from the public: Who drew this East Cobb city map? Why isn’t my neighborhood in it?

Perhaps the biggest silent question that could have been implied is this one: What does it mean to be in East Cobb?

Advocates for a new city say one of the objectives is to help create a better sense of community identity. That certainly could be a by-product in an area that’s been building out in sprawling, unincorporated suburban fashion for nearly 50 years.

But how the City of East Cobb proposal now before the legislature, and that could go to voters in a referendum next year, finally comes to fruition depends on how those municipal boundaries may ultimately be decided.

The map that’s been drawn up is the East Cobb portion of Bob Ott’s Cobb Commission District 2, at least in unincorporated Cobb and excluding the Cumberland Community Improvement District.

That drew suspicions about Ott’s possible involvement in the cityhood effort (which he denies).

But it’s a city heavy with the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones, a little of Pope and Lassiter and none from Sprayberry and Kell.

How can that be called East Cobb?

The cityhood bill filed near the end of the 2019 legislative session includes that map, and leaders of the group insist that the map, and everything in the bill, including a proposed city charter, is subject to change.

In fact, at a town hall meeting they held Monday, they confirmed that changing the proposed boundaries is in the works, and could cross Sandy Plains Road, out toward Shallowford and Trickum Roads.

“The lines will change,” said David Birdwell, a member of the cityhood group, said at the Walton meeting. “It depends on how far we go.”

The feasibility study conducted for the cityhood group according to the present lines would include a population of 96,000, which would make East Cobb the second-largest city in metro Atlanta.

The Cityhood group also released an interactive map this week that lets readers find out whether they’re in the presently proposed boundaries.

(FWIW the coverage area of East Cobb News is most everything east of I-75 and I-575, including most of the ZIP codes of 30062, 30066, 30067, 30068 and the Cobb portion of 30075. That’s a population of around 200,000; view demographic details here.)

Subject to change

Cityhood leaders have said that some boundaries had to be submitted with the bill. The legislation also calls for a six-member city council and specified census blocks and voting precincts.

Those too are a rough draft and are likely to be changed; a few of the voting precincts indicated in the bill are either non-existent or misnumbered.

Five of the six council districts would include some or a good bit of the Walton attendance zone (it’s the third-largest high school in Cobb).

It’s uncertain for now how that school zone dynamic would change in an expanded proposed city.

Birdwell said that an amendment to the feasibility study could be requested if those lines do change, so a new study (and its budgeting and finance assumptions) may not be necessary before the legislature would take up the bill in 2020.

“It’s their discretion to make the final call,” said Karen Hallacy, another member of the cityhood group.

The legislative process

Even though East Cobb cityhood is considered local legislation (lawmakers in the proposed new city have to sponsor it), a bill would be voted on by both houses in the Georgia General Assembly.

State. Rep. Matt Dollar (R-East Cobb) is the House sponsor. State Rep. Sharon Cooper, also of East Cobb, said she hasn’t decided about cityhood and didn’t sign on as a sponsor.

“The meeting was very informative,” she said after the Monday town hall. “This community wants input, and I think it clarifies a lot of misconceptions. I’m like any other citizen, just getting input.”

The bill doesn’t need the support of the Cobb delegation. State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, an East Cobb Republican, would need to sponsor the bill if it crosses over from the House, but for now she remains non-committal about cityhood.

“I’m trying to keep an open mind until the end of the year,” she said after the town hall. “The bill has a tough road ahead of it,” as any bill does. Some recent cityood bills and referenda also have been defeated.

By time an East Cobb bill might cross over, Kirkpatrick said, “I’ll have a better idea whether East Cobb wants to be a city.

“I’ve gotten a lot of negative feedback, but then people hear about the police and the idea of more local control,” she said. “I’ll bet they [cityhood leaders] picked up some support tonight.”

East Cobb News Cityhood Coverage

• How many police officers does a City of East Cobb need?
• East Cobb Cityhood proponents press case for ‘more local control’
• Town hall meeting to mark cityhood’s “reset” effort
• Editor’s Note: Taking on the tough sell of cityhood
• Cityhood bill calls for referendum and initial elections in 2020
• More: East Cobb News Cityhood Page 

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